Over 20 Palestinians killed as Jerusalem violence leads to rockets, air strikes

According to Israel's military, it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed the ‘red line’ by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since 2014.

The day began with confrontations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's walled Old City on the site known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed these attacks.

The rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued late into the night, with loud explosions close to Gaza city and across the coastal strip.

Shortly before midnight, Israel’s military claimed that Palestinian militants had fired around 150 rockets into Israel, of which dozens were intercepted by its missile defense systems.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Violent clashes over Jerusalem escalated dramatically with Gaza health officials saying at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli air strikes launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets https://t.co/hIcmoN0kSw pic.twitter.com/qIdFRk6bu3

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 11, 2021

Following the chaos, a massive fire engulfed trees in the compound that houses the mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, and the Temple Mount sacred to Jews.

Palestinian group Hamas in a statement said we salute the Palestinian martyrs who were killed in the Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza strip.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, thousands of people rallied outside the Israeli embassy in Ankara and the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul in protest against recent Israeli violence against Palestinians.

The protesters in Istanbul carried Palestinian flags and chanted, slogans "Down with Israel, down with America".

Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed Ankara support for the Palestinians' right to defend East Jerusalem and its holy places from the Israeli assaults.

Both had a telephonic conversation, following which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that Turkey will do everything in its power to mobilize the whole world, especially the Islamic world, to stop Israeli terrorism and occupation.

Erdogan said Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian cause, stand with its Palestinian brothers and protect the honor of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has urged both Israel and the Palestinians to lower tensions in the Palestinian territories.